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Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Word


(The Cup of Tea by Mary Cassatt, 1844-1926,
American painter and printmaker)

THE WORD

Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,

between “green thread”
and “broccoli,” you find
that you have penciled “sunlight.”

Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present
he had sent from some place distant
as this morning ─ to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing

that also need accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds

of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,

but today you get a telegram,
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,

─ to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

~ Tony Hoagland, b. 1953, American poet

2 comments:

Barbara Sullivan Mangogna said...

That's really lovely. Perfect for a busy Saturday. And the Cassatt pairs with it perfectly. Thank you. Barbara in St Louis

Anonymous said...

It is an hour earlier time where my sister live
Tony Hoagland poem shadowed right over todays list and I breathed in the sunshine line AND sighed for the Mary Cassat scene. I just found my sister is also mid list and of course we would love the illustration and wish we were in it together.We unknowingly commented together a thousand miles and a few minutes apart. Mary Vitiello